I Amstel like beer — it has a weightiness, giving it confidence and breadth. But I found I can only drink it on certain occasions — it’s not an every time beer.
Perhaps that’s why they make Amstel Light. With half the heaviness, it’s a solid carefree beer — one good for all occasions — but it’s not crap like Bud Light.
This, of course, leads me to Beck.
On the heels of The Information, Beck’s sprawling almost-hourlong album from 2006, comes Modern Guilt, a 34-minute breeze of pop minimalism meets ’60s psychedelia. Brewed by Danger Mouse, a former UGA student turned DJ/producer extraordinaire, Modern Guilt is focused and blunt (missing are Beck’s many overdubs and electronic languishes) with fun bouncy beats as light as Chinese gymnasts.
That’s not to say there’s no weight to it, forged through Beck’s doom and gloom lyrics dripping from his marble mouth. “Chemtrails” is a dreamy Beatles groove circa Revolver about the waste jets leave in their wake. “Watching the sea/Full of people/Try not to drown,” Beck laments. Yikes. In “Gamma Ray,” a happy surf beat homage if there ever was one, Beck sings about the end of the world: “Trying to hold/Hold out for now/With these ice caps/Melting down.” And “Volcano“ has him ruminating about leaping into lava. Fun times. The highlight: “Profanity Prayers,” a bubblegum burst that has Beck “waiting for the light.”
It’s a mature Beck and a playful Danger Mouse going to different parties but emerging together with something refreshing and dour.
Hard to do, but ripe for everyone.
